Anal sex, anal warts

Question

My boyfriend has anal warts. I also had them about a year and a
half ago before we met.

We have been together for seven months. We both agreed to keep
the relationship completely monogamous, but I don't have any reason to doubt
him.

I am concerned about a number of things though. Can I be the
recipient in anal sex without my boyfriend using a condom and not risk catching
the warts?

He also says that he did not have sex while we were together –
is it possible that he contracted them from me, even though I have not had them
for over a year?

He is having them treated weekly by the genitourinary medicine
(GUM) clinic.

When they have gone can we go back to having unprotected
sex?

Answer

OK, let's begin by explaining a couple of things about
warts in the sexual
areas of the body.

They're caused by a virus. The virus is spread during sex. They
tend to occur on the penis, on the opening of the vagina, and – in gay guys
such as yourself – around the anus.

Now, to answer your questions:

If you're 'on the receiving end' of anal sex without a condom
you do stand a risk of catching the virus and getting warts.

Yes, your boyfriend could possibly have got the warts from you
in the first place – because people can carry the virus without any symptoms.
However, please do realise that there are all sorts of ways in which one can
acquire wart viruses in adult life. So there's no point in worrying about who
infected whom!

As far as resuming unprotected sex is concerned, you'll have to
be guided by the GUM clinic.

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